The Friars came to Madison Square Garden having won seven of their final nine regular-season games to move onto the outer fringes of the NCAA Tournament bubble. If they would have upset Cincinnati on Wednesday and then upended Georgetown in Thursday's quarterfinals, the Friars would have given the selection committee yet another at-large to consider.

Providence shot 9-for-32 from the field in the first half and 9-for-32 in the second half. That's not good consistency. The Friars' 3-point shooting (1-for-16 beyond the arc) was, in Cooley's description, "gross."

There were signs of encouragement, though, more than those stats might indicate. After falling behind 26-8 in the first half, the Friars cut the Cincinnati lead to eight by halftime and trimmed it to four shortly after the break. They trailed by six points with five minutes left in the game, but those were the moments Cooley's team wasn't ready to handle.

Cincinnati was ready. The Bearcats closed the game on an 18-7 run. As important as this game was for Providence to climb onto the bubble, it was just as important for Cincinnati to win and avoid sliding onto the wrong side of the bubble.

"We're a team that's hungry," said Sean Kilpatrick, who led the Bearcats with 17 points.

The Bearcats probably just needed to avoid a Big East disaster to earn an at-large berth, and that goal has been accomplished. Losing to top-seeded Georgetown on Thursday wouldn't hurt their NCAA resume.

The Friars (17-14) now have to wait to see if they'll be invited to the NIT. For Cooley, the CBI tournament — won by Big East member Pitt last season, by the way — isn't an option.

"If we don't play in the NIT, our season is gone," Cooley said. "I didn't come to Providence College to play in another basketball tournament. If the standard is the NCAA, that's the standard. ... I think those other tournaments, they do a great job. I played in one at Fairfield. That's not where our program is. That's not downplaying anybody. That's just my personal opinion."